The South Winners, during a league 1 match, at the Orange Vélodrome stadium, in Marseille, in 2019. BOUE SEBASTIEN / PRESSE SPORTS
Designated as the main responsible for the very violent crisis which shook Olympique de Marseille (OM) throughout the week, leading to the departure of new coach Marcelino and the withdrawal of club president Pablo Longoria, those responsible for the South Winners supporters association are important players, this Saturday September 23, in the mass given by the Pope in the Vélodrome stadium.
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While President Longoria denounced threats against his person and announced that he was going to file complaints with the courts – without however specifying against whom, or on what grounds – the presence of the South Winners at the heart of the most secure event of the year in Marseille, is surprising.
Requested by the diocese of Marseille, supporters have been preparing for several weeks a “tifo”, these visual tables which cover the stands before matches, in honor of Francis, an Argentinian and a great football fan. The choreography, in which the Good Mother should have a beautiful place, will be revealed a few minutes before the start of the mass.
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Links with Marseille politicians
Friday, from 8 a.m., some of the members of this group which has nearly 7,500 members, put in place the sheets of paper and the sails which will be waved at the entry of the popemobile into the Marseille stadium. The bulk of the troops arrived later: around a hundred of them went directly to the Vélodrome in the middle of the day, returning from Amsterdam, where they had gone to support OM in the Europa League against Ajax (3-3 ). In the middle, Rachid Zeroual, leader of the group which demanded the resignation of President Pablo Longoria and his main collaborators during a stormy meeting on Monday September 18, led the maneuver.
In Marseille, the supporters association is a regular at major non-football events. Last June, at the invitation of MP Sabrina Agresti-Roubache, who was not yet Secretary of State, she helped to unfurl a welcome banner for Emmanuel Macron, visiting the city . The main leaders of the South Winners, led by Rachid Zeroual, were then presented by the MP to the Head of State and began a short discussion to ask him to help them “find investors” for OM. “We are suffering, Mr. President,” already seemed to warn the ultra leader. Very involved in various social actions – providing funds to charitable associations, delivering basic necessities to the Libyan consulate, preparing young Marseillais for competitive exams for the Grandes Ecoles within the Protis Club in partnership with HEC Paris – the Winners do not do not hide their links with Marseille politicians.
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